(The following was a letter to The Oregonian.)
I am generally happy to have the privilege to live in Oregon because of our states’ natural beauty, our concern for the environment, our lovely summers, and our accessible government. I am also currently happy because our COVID case rate is only 25% of the national average and our death rate is only 12%. However today the Oregonian made me feel proud to be an Oregonian. The personal statement by Morgan Godwin brought tears to my eyes for its simple honesty and clear reason based on experience. The Editorial on the Rose Quarter made me proud that the Oregonian sees the need to redress the past and think outside of an engineering “box”. The in depth look at the reaction to violent protests by Maxine Bernstein showed their reporters are willing to look hard and dig deeper than just a knee-jerk law and order and property protection response. And finally, R. Gregory Notes insightful and educational piece on Oregon’s racial history gives me have hope we can recognize our past and learn from our mistakes. I support his call for a statue to Robin Holmes in Salem.
Gerritt Rosenthal